ENIOLA AKINKUOTU examines conspiracy theories of some clerics and concludes that they are worsening people’s ignorance about COVID-19
In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, the government at the national and sub-national levels in March came up with guidelines on gatherings, which mostly affected places of worship, including mega churches that attract millions of worshippers every Sunday.
Lagos, which is the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria, first came up with guidelines that gatherings of more than 50 people would not be permitted.
One of the first clerics to respond to the buzz generated by the COVID-19 pandemic was Prophet Temitope Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations.
The cleric, better known as T.B. Joshua, stated that the pandemic would be over latest by March 27.
Addressing his congregation, Joshua stated, “By the end of this month, whether we like it or not, no matter the medicine they might have produced to cure whatever, it will go the way it came.”
When Joshua was called out by his traducers for a failed prophecy, he responded by saying, “What I meant was that the virus would be halted where it began, and in Wuhan, it has stopped.”
However, a news medium, Al Jazeera, reported in May that Wuhan witnessed a cluster of COVID-19 infections thereby negating Joshua’s prophecy.
As the rate of infection continued to rise, the government decided to order a total lockdown, which led to the suspension of all social gatherings in Lagos and Ogun states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
Many clerics embraced the lockdown and reached out to millions of people through online and television channels. They also called on their followers to obey all protocols regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, some others faulted the directive, insisting that the ‘House of God’ ought to remain open so that those who fell sick could receive healing.
One of such clerics is Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, the President of Love World Incorporated, better known as Christ Embassy.
For Oyakhilome, the lockdown was occasioned by the pandemic was a mere ruse to lay fibre optic cables ahead of the launch of 5G telecommunications technology, which would see to the emergence of a new world order.
According to him, the coronavirus pandemic was created to instil fear in people so as to actualise the agenda, adding that the 5G technology was an antichrist initiative.
Oyakhilome stated, “The Federal Government was pushed to lock down Abuja and Lagos specifically because of 5G in Abuja and Lagos. They had already tested 5G in Abuja and now they are digging in Lagos to get it ready. That is why they locked down Abuja and Lagos so that the 5G can be installed.
“I have said before that what killed people in Wuhan, China, was not the virus but the 5G. If you say it is not, tell us how you discovered yours. The world is not dealing with a virus. This is the biggest deception in the world. You cannot hide from a virus by staying in your house.”
This controversial claim was, however, punctured by the Nigerian Communications Commission, which stated that the 5G technology had not yet been approved in the country.
The NCC further stated that there was no evidence to show that the technology had harmful consequences on humans.
Oyakhilome later apologised for his claims, saying he was only opposed to the initiative because of the seeming silence of authorised regulators to speak on its advantages and disadvantages.
Weeks later, however, Oyakhilome was back with more conspiracy theories, lambasting other clerics for agreeing to shut down their churches during the pandemic.
The pastor also said the government would soon begin to classify churches based on their compliance with directives on the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, their swift compliance with the directive is the reason Nigeria has yet to “see the hand of God.”
He also queried the motive for any planned vaccination against the pandemic.
“What they are using to test, do you know what it is? Do you know why it can show positive and negative? Do you know? A virus they told us they are still studying, why don’t they study it first? They are still studying it and they already have a vaccine that could be ready in July for a virus they are still studying,” the pastor said.
With the economy taking a nosedive and poverty levels rising in the face of an impending recession after five weeks of total lockdown, the government decided to ease the restrictions on May 4, 2020.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, reeled out the guidelines for the easing of the lockdown, which included places of worship being reopened with a warning that services should not hold for more than an hour.
But the Lagos and Ogun state governments insisted that places of worship as well as schools should remain shut, while markets should re-open.
This did not go down well with many clerics because some of the mega churches are headquartered in the two states.
One of such clerics is the Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, aka Winners’ Chapel International, David Oyedepo.
Oyedepo said the decision to open markets and keep churches shut was a demonic plot to silence the body of Christ.
He said, “There is something wrong; for people to be allowed to be in the market for six hours and can’t be in church for two hours, it is an upside-down way of looking at things.
“Which one is more orderly? The market or the church? I can smell a rat. The Lord spoke to me on it so strong yesterday. I can smell a rat. Behind all this, how do we stop the church from exploding? The people involved don’t know it.
“The voice of darkness is influencing people at various levels, targeting the church because the growth and expansion of the church is the greatest headache of the devil. But the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The devil and all his agents shall surely pay for this.”
Another influential pastor, Chris Okotie, who is the founder of the Household of God Church International Ministries, described the COVID-19 pandemic as a grand scheme by international forces to reduce the population of the world.
Apart reeling out numeral permutations, Okotie, who did not provide verifiable proof to back his claim, said, “People have asked me if we’re dealing with the number 666; if this is about the antichrist. Is this about you taking that number and the eternal damnation that is the consequence of that?
“No. We’re dealing with another number that is the precursor to the number 666. The year 2020 was particularly chosen by Satan as the year when he would challenge the authority of the almighty God upon the face of the earth in preparation for the coming of the antichrist.”
In a subsequent message, Okotie criticised Christians for listening to sermons online rather than attending churches.
He described such as unbiblical, adding that God commanded that all men must ‘fellowship’ together.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Thursday, the spokesman for the National Orientation Agency, Mr Paul Odenyi, said it was unfortunate that some pastors were not helping in the fight against COVID-19.
He said, “COVID-19 is a worldwide problem and is not peculiar to Nigeria. Worldwide, churches and mosques are also shut. There is no pilgrimage to Mecca, Jerusalem or Rome this year. So, we should not accept narratives that Covid-19 is a scam by the Nigerian government.
“It is only Lagos and Ogun that shutdown churches and it is based on the peculiarity of those states. Those who think it is a scam are getting it wrong. Unfortunately, many people would rather believe their men of God than theNOA when we tell them COVID-19 is real and this is making our work difficult.
“So, I appeal to religious leaders not to frustrate our efforts by the utterances they make to their congregation. COVID-19 is not a scam and it kills people daily.
Also speaking, a renowned Virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, described the claims by some pastors as unfortunate.
Tomori, who is a former Vice-Chancellor of Redeemers University, said many of the clerics calling the pandemic a scam were doing so because of a drop in tithes and offerings.
The professor, who is also the Chairman, Expert Review Committee on COVID-19, said the decision to open markets and shut churches was based on the peculiarity of the disease.
He explained that while markets were located in open spaces, churches are located in closed buildings which involve people making bodily contact.
Tomori said ideally the government ought not to have eased the lockdown but it decided to do so for emotional reasons and this may prove costly now that COVID-19 is believed to be an airborne disease.
The virologist said, “You cannot compare churches to market. Markets are open and there is free flow of air. Churches are closed where people sing and dance. People don’t congregate in the market. Most people will not wear masks in church. Jesus Christ did not lay hands on everyone he healed. He spoke the word to people and they were healed. Let the pastors who are truly genuine, speak the word.
“No one is happy about the lockdown but the Bible also says faith without work is dead. So, wash your hands, wear face masks and ensure that you are following the guidelines. This pandemic is not a joke. It kills people daily.”
A former Director, Programme Development and Administration, National AIDS and STIs Control Programme, Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Araoye Segilola, said illiteracy had a lot to do with the belief that COVID-19 was a scam.
Segilola stated that there was a need for the government to collaborate with clerics because issues that border on faith are very sensitive and the people may likely side with their pastor than the government.
He said, “Once something affects religion, there is bound to be a revolt. Churches have been closed since March and of course this will affect their economy so they must find a way to fight back by calling it a scam. But some people got infected in church.”
An Associate Professor at the Philosophy Department of the University of Lagos, Anthony Okeregbe,
He stated that the reason for the decision to re-open markets and keep churches closed must be properly communicated to clerics.
A lecturer of History and International Relations at Uxbridge College, Ikeja, Dr. Abimbola Oyarinu, said the utterances of the clerics was capable of undermining the COVID-19 response because Nigeria is a very religious society.
Oyarinu stated that Internet services had made it possible for churches to hold online services and this should suffice in the face of the pandemic.
